Laptop recommendations

[Knowname]

ok no SSD then lol it seems there aren't many available yet anyway. (UNLESS you look at a desktop... still their expensive and I suggest you back everything up on a mechanical HD as well, but both an SSD and a cheap HD won't raise your price too much- maybe a hundred bucks or so) but regardless try to get something with a quick (7200rpm) hard drive.

this one looks good, blue ray, big screen, lots of ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834127047

[SQ]

DID NOT KNOW about Dell's military discounts.
Will definitely look into it! Thank you.

[Knowname]

here I made you a dell that's comparable to the sony I linked to
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... dtime=True
the dell has 8 gigs ram and the sony has only 6 gigs ram HOWEVER the sony has faster ram (1333 used with an i7 processor vs. 1066 used with an i5 processor)
I think the sony has a slightly faster HDD... look like it's negligable though.
Both have Blueray drives and "Full HD" screens
The Dell with discount is 1600 bucks, sony is 1800.
Only upgrade I included is a trade in program... those are always really good (but MAKE SURE and read all the fine print)
I'd expect the Sony to be a LITTLE faster due to it's i7 processor.

[SQ]

Thanks knowname, I appreciate it. But I think you're overestimating my needs? XD
I'll play with the specs a bit, but I don't need HD or bluray. I was trying to aim for under $1000, also. Right now I have my eyes on this.

CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 2.0G
Screen 17" WXGA+
Memory Size 4GB
Hard Disk 320GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M
Video Memory 512MB DDR3
Card slot 1 x Express Card

HDD is a sata although it doesn't list how fast it is, nor what type the ram is. But I'd assume ddr2. Which is fine by me, personally.
I don't need top of the line or anything.

But then surfsama mentioned the military discounts, so I'm kind of slowly working my way through those brands to see what might have the better offer around this set of specs.

EDIT:
Disregard this, I suck cocks.
I should've actually looked at your link before I posted.

[Knowname]

I don't think that link works...

well here is what I did and why you'd want it

color
I'd assume you wouldn't care :/ so I just did the free one
processor
upgrade as FAR as you can! the bottom one is TERRIBLE for video editing, the second is not much better you want cache
operating system
it don't matter, don't get pulled into getting ultimate unless you KNOW you need it. The premium has everything most ppl need
warranty and service
a longer warranty might be good
hard drive
I considered their choices, but, to me, they just don't make sense. stick with the default
memory
very important, upgrade as much as possible
wireless
doesn't matter
battery
doesn't matter as long as there's a plugin
keyboard
get a backlit if you value your eyes
webcam
doesn't matter
HD Display
some say this matters and I sort of agree so get the best you can afford
optical drive
you'll want blueray
vidcard
get the best one, you don't want integrated
the rest
doesn't matter (though I do suggest the buy back plan if it is indeed a buyback plan... now that I look at it it might just be a stupid 'tune up' thing )

edit:
Yeah I might be going overboard a little lol but I do highly suggest a core i5 w/ cache at minimum, you may be able to do without blueray for the life of this thing, but I highly suggest a core i5 processor if your going to be doing a lot of encoding on this monster.

[SQ]

All right, pardon my ignorance, but wouldn't a dual core processor work better for rendering or encoding?
Because I'm looking at this comparison of intel processors, and the Core 2 Duo seems to preform at about the same level as the i3.

I was thinking about just getting a Dell Inspiron 17 with i3 instead of the studio 17 to drive the price down a bit more.

Otherwise, that link doesn't work? Weird.
Try this one:
http://xrl.us/bhj5rf

[Knowname]

All right, pardon my ignorance

don't worry I just realized your a girl

but wouldn't a dual core processor work better for rendering or encoding?

it sure does, if your referring to the core i#'s they are dual cores

I was thinking about just getting a Dell Inspiron 17 with i3 instead of the studio 17 to drive the price down a bit more.

I hate to push the limits on what you think you need and your budget or whatever but are you absolutely SURE you can't get a desktop?? Sorry but as Zarx implies a proper mobile video editing setup is going to be 1200-2000 dollars, you CAN get the same thing (sans the wires) in a desktop for 899! 899 laptops are NOT what you want you'll end up finding yourself feeling like you do about your mac in a couple months or even weeks.

You should really look at these new computers, some of them are really small and more mobile than you might think! only problem might be the accessories as in the monitor, speakers, mouse and so on. they make towers the size of sandwiches now. You'd probly be looking at something the size of a VCR though. So yeah the size is about the same, the only tricky thing is dealing with all the wires/ speakers (which actually enhance the environment 10000%, integrated pop cans not withstanding), multiple plugs and stuff. But when you do set it up you get a MUCH better experience for 30% less! I don't know about you but that's well worth my time.

Unless you want to use it on a train/ plane or something (I mean editing while on a plane... most likely you won't, I'd wager lol, as there isn't enough time, and if it's anything more get yourself a smartphone and go crazy with gaia/ facebook w/e). Desktops just are not mobile in the respect that you can't set them up everywhere, but current desktops are really quite capable for movers. step out of the imac crowd and actually experience what is available out there

Try this one:
http://xrl.us/bhj5rf

But by all means, get yourself a disposable s*can. Their not bad and you might have a little bit of happiness with your purchase. But IS your primary needs are to edit then it won't be long till your thinking 'I can't edit on this thing, it's too slow!'

Do you have a smartphone? I'm not talking about a dumbphone (iphone). Their practically HD-less laptops in themselves.

[SQ]

don't worry I just realized your a girl

Yeah I stopped reading here.
Go be a dick elsewhere, asshole.

[Knowname]

That was a joke but ok :/. I can be taken as an ass so yeah.

[Kionon]

I still think you're seriously underestimating your Intel MacBook. I successfully edited in Final Cut Pro on my 1.42GHz single core PPC G4 with 1GB of ram, and Red Wolf was editing on a PowerMac G4 with a singly 450GHz G4 (iirc). Again, if you spend only about two hundred dollars, on the things I mentioned in the Mac thread, your MacBook will edit SD content easily. Since most shows are still on DVD and therefore in SD, I just think that buying a new laptop for editing is not practical.

Now, if you want to edit in HD, that's going to require more power, and you would need an upgrade, sure.